Achievement declines from 2019 to 2022 were larger for students in high-poverty schools than in low-poverty schools in grades 1–2¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2027: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In both reading and math, pre-COVID to COVID achievement differences were larger for students in high-poverty schools (greater than 75% FRPL) than low-poverty schools (less than 25% FRPL). → Kuhfeld 2022

Evidence¶

Kuhfeld 2022¶

Kuhfeld, M., & Lewis, K. (2022). COVID-19 in the early elementary years: A comparison of achievement in spring 2019 and spring 2022. NWEA Collaborative for Student Growth. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/covid-19-in-the-early-elementary-years-a-comparison-of-achievement-in-spring-2019-and-spring-2022/

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Figure 3 disaggregates percentile rank changes by school poverty level, with "high poverty" defined as greater than 75% FRPL eligibility and low poverty as less than 25%. Table 3 reports group-level means, median percentiles, and standardized differences by poverty level.

"In both subjects, the differences in achievement between the pre-COVID and COVID samples are larger for students in high-poverty schools than for students in low-poverty schools"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Socioeconomic Status — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group

Related Claims¶

• Children from low-SES families were more negatively affected by COVID-19 school closures than children from high-SES families — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Achievement declines from 2019 to 2022 were smaller for Asian American and White first and second graders than for Hispanic, Black, and AIAN students — related
• American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, and Latinx students and students in high-poverty schools were disproportionately impacted by pandemic-era achievement declines, particularly in elementary grades — a broader claim this one bears on
• First- and second-grade spring 2022 achievement in reading and math was lower than spring 2019 prepandemic achievement — related
• Male BIPOC students and BIPOC students in high-poverty schools made the lowest percentage of typical learning gains during the pandemic — related
• The dashboard supports comparisons of achievement trends between student groups, including by school poverty level, with a recommendation to compare similar groups — related
• School poverty (%FRL) accounts for about 50% of a school's median student achievement — related
• COVID-19-related school closures in spring 2020 had a negative overall effect on student achievement (median −0.08 SD across eleven studies) — related
• Pandemic achievement declines were uneven across racial/ethnic groups, with the largest declines still apparent for Hispanic, Black, and AIAN students in spring 2022 — related